Smarty REVO - adjustments for mileage towing?

[JAlford]

I tow at moderate weight, cross the scales at 20K. I have downloaded the Rev0 sw, and am looking for best ways to use it. Looking for fuel mileage while maintaining enough power to pull the hills and for passing. Has anyone done some tuning and know where to start from? I ran the comp on 3/3 when towing before the smarty, and averaged 11-12mpg. With the smarty I was running sw#4 and comp 3/2, haven't done any long hauls so don't really know the mileage with that combo.



What are others running on adjustments?



Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Jeff

 

[Beast2B]

my best results are sw1, sub settings 0,0,0 or sub settings 1,4,1 depending on your other parts. i gain about 1. 5 mpg versus sw5 with default sub settings (with any other boxes off). i haven't towed since I got the FMS, so I can't help with the fueling box...

also, i get very little cruise control surge on those settings which is critical for 65 mile commutes!

 

[Bob4x4]

I tow at moderate weight, cross the scales at 20K. I have downloaded the Rev0 sw, and am looking for best ways to use it. Looking for fuel mileage while maintaining enough power to pull the hills and for passing. Has anyone done some tuning and know where to start from? I ran the comp on 3/3 when towing before the smarty, and averaged 11-12mpg. With the smarty I was running sw#4 and comp 3/2, haven't done any long hauls so don't really know the mileage with that combo.



What are others running on adjustments?



Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Jeff

I would call towing above the OEM rating heavy... . You will need a lot of transmission or clutch to handle the additional torque with that load. There is no hard and fast rule about what gets the best mileage towing. It will depend on your driving style and supporting mods.

 

[DPalmquist]

Keep it as close to 60mph and that will be your best mpg.

 

[JAlford]

So far, not towing, I can change the mileage 3mpg by adjusting the settings. Apparently, by increasing the torque and duration, it affects cruising, and at higher settings it is almost impossible to run with cruise on, it won't hold speed.

I have not tried to play with different settings on the stacked Comp box, but so far the default Smarty sw#1 yeilds me 20mpg at 75mph cruising, no tow. I don't have a fuel consumption gauge, so that is fillup to fillup checking.



Is anyone towing long hauls with a high trailer and gross combined weight in the 20K range? my camper is 12'5", but I have a wing. With stock program, no Edge, I get 9mpg and max out at 65mph on flat ground, crest hills at 30mph. I was getting 12mpg with the Edge Comp on 1x2 or 2x2, and could actually climb a grade without ending up in 3rd gear. The setting I used most was 3x3 or 4x3 in the mountains, as I could actually pass if necessary, keep up with traffic if it got heavy, and didn't have to use the emergency flashers on every grade I came to. Usually my mileage would drop to 10. 5mpg with these settings, running 65mph average.



Any constructive input is appreciated. By the way, this is with the '99 truck, if anyone was wondering. The '06 will have to get a real transmission before I can tow with it, especially with the truck stock.

Jeff

 

[Tinman]

Any mileage saving could be offset by damage if you where to run the timing too advanced. The advanced timing will, of course, help mileage, but will increase cylinder pressure. Towing that heavy with too much timing may kill the head gasket (or worse). I wouldn't think about going more that the smarty on the least amount of timing advance, #3; aftermarket injectors. If you have aftermarket injectors, don't change timing. Also, I think the smarty changes the fueling curve even on the timing only setting adding low end fuel. In my truck (when it was stock) it cause tons of low end smoke. And, as mentioned, this will put more stress on your drive train. You're already pushing your truck hard. Be cautious.



If you have gauges, adding a little duration may help mileage without any of the issues that might come from timing advance. Just watch the EGTs.

 

[LRutigliano]

I have been towing the 11k 5er (a little over 18K total) for the last 4k miles on SW1 (TM2, TQ2 and RP1) with Smarty S06.



My averages for towing in the mountain passes were approx 9. 8 - 10 mpg (w/o Smarty) and 10. 5 - 11 mpg with Smarty.



On the flats w/no grades, I am seeing 11. 7 - 12. 1 mpg with Smarty on those settings.



I also have 80hp injectors, so my total "hp" addition is closer to 100hp...



I have recently tried SW3 with TM3, TQ2 and RP1 and the truck responds to this setting even better. EGTs are lower and power is up.



On SW1 with TM3, TQ2 and RP1, the truck ran very "poorly" just by changing the timing setting...



Bottom line is you need to experiment a little and find the best tune for your combo.



Hope this helps,

Louis

 

[JAlford]

Just returned from our trip to visit family - towing our camper from Ohio to Montana and back. Tried several different settings during the trip, all using strickly the SMARTY, never used the Edge Comp in stack (first time I could do that). Ran SW#1 (fuel saver), yielded mileage ranging from 9. 6 to 12. 2 mpg depending on conditions (mountains with headwind vs. flat ground w/tailwind). Did have some difficulty with EGT's climbing above 1200deg on pulls, had to back off speed and downshift on grades. Ran SW#5, yielded same fuel mileage - 9. 8 to 12mpg, slightly lower EGT's. This seemed to work the best, so was run the most.

Speeds were kept from 55mph to 68mph, occasionally cresting a hill at 50mph in 4th.

Side effects - bad. I was able to run SW#5 without high EGT's at 55mph (speed limit in Illinois) in 5th gear (1650rpm). After running in 4th at 55mph (2300rpm) and watching the fuel mileage drop to 9. 8mpg on flat ground, no wind, I shifted into 5th for the last 100 miles thru IL. Not a good idea. 200 miles later, 5th gear broke apart, I suspect the nut backed off, will know more when I get the transmission out. This is getting to be a regular problem, transmission has been rebuilt 3 times in the last 80K. I have upgraded it each time, with larger input shaft, fully splined mainshaft, bronze syncros, etc. transmission just can't seem to handle the extra power.

Jeff